Thursday, April 9, 2015

The state of Maryland today moved one step closer to moving its presidential primary to the fourth Tuesday in April. On Thursday, April 9, the Maryland state Senate concurred (47-0) with the minor changes made to SB 204 by the House just a day before, clearing the way for the bill to be enrolled and delivered to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) for his consideration.

An April 26, 2016 presidential primary in Maryland -- assuming the governor signs the bill into law -- would coincide with primaries in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Though that is one potential benefit, the initial driver behind the push to move the primary back three weeks was to avoid the contest overlapping with spring religious holidays.